Bangladesh's Sheikh Hasina demands probe into Awami League deaths and challenges UN protest death toll

Former prime minister Sheikh Hasina warned that a series of deaths among senior Awami League leaders, including veteran lawmaker Md Dabirul Islam and former minister Ramesh Chandra Sen, appeared to be planned killings and called for an investigation, accusing the current Bangladesh National Party government of continuing a pattern of political violence.

Hasina’s legal team also sent a letter to UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk demanding a public retraction of the UN fact‑finding report that estimated 1,400 people were killed during the July–August 2024 protests that led to Hasina’s ouster. The letter argues the casualty figure should be corrected to lower numbers cited by the interim government (about 834) and by protesters (around 650). Hasina remains in exile in India following the 2024 uprising that removed her from power.